Staple-making machine



Feb. 28, 1928.

C. C. BLAKE STAPLE MAKlNG MAOHI NE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 9, 1924 w W 1 8 o m w WLIIJLPIITQ a W V O O O n 6 0 WM 0 w o L u aw-m Feb. 28, 1928.

c. c. BLAKE STAPLE MAKING MACHINE Filed Feb. 9. 1924 s Sheets-Sheet 2 l I 1 I I I I I I l I l l l l I l I I I l l I I I I l l l l l l l l l l l I l 1 (5 J0 'Feb. 28, 1928. 1,660,952

C. C. BLAKE STAPLE MAKING MACHINE Filed Feb. 9, 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 N VEN 717R WW M Feb. 2a, 1928. 1,660,952

c. c. BLAKE STAPLE MAKING MACHINE Filed Feb' 9. 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 5 2 I L- 2e Feb. 28, 1928. 1,660,952

0. c. BLAKE I STAPLE MAKING MACHINE Filed Feb. 9, 1924 5 Sheets-$heet 5 Patented Feb. 28 1928.

* UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES C. BLAKE, OF snooxtrnn, MASSACHUSETTS; ASSIGNOB o 0. o. BLAKE, INCORPORATED, or BOSTGN, MASSACHUSETTS, A ooRPonATroNoF NEW YQBK.

TARE- KI G MACHINE.

2 Application filed February 9, 1924. Serial No. 691,627.

The present inventionrelates to machines for making staples and more particularly to improvements in the staple-making machine disclosed in my co-pending application, Serial No. 422,277, filed November. 6, 1920;

The said prior machine is provided with a mandrel which is rotated to draw Wire from a source of supply and coil the Wire on the mandrel, the bends the ,coils forming the heads or shoulders of a plurality of staples; a stationary cam for -feeding the coils along the n'iandrel, and a pair of cutters for shearing; the Wire across the end ottl e mandrel intermediate e2. -h successive bend to form two complete staples at every revolution of the machine. The general principles of the machine of said co-pending appli cation are embodiedin the machine of the presentv invention, the ob ect of the invention being; toimprove the operation of the prior machine in certain particulars.

To this end certain novelfeatures of the present invention contemplate the provision of mechanism for readily adjusting the machine to compensate for any variations 1n the gauge of Wire which may occur in suc-.

cessive reels; of improved 'ine ans for stoppin t the advance of the Wire on the mandrel under the influence of the coil feeding cam; of improved means in the tail-stock for sup- Potting the mandrel for rotation; of improved means for supporting the coil feeding; ca m to make its removal and the sub- SllttltlOIl of another feedmgcam for ieedmg coils made from a. different gauge or wire a simple matter: of improved means for ad-; pisting the tail-stock to compensate for Wear on the mandrel: ot'improved means for ejecting the staples fronrthe machine, and in certain devices,combinations and arrangements of parts tending to improve and simpli'fiy the operation of staple-making machines and enable them to operate with oer .rinty and without liability of breakage of parts. The advantages of these devices, combinations and arrangements of the parts The various features of the present invention Will be best understood from an inspection of the accompanying drawings, illustrating the best form of the invention present 1levist-rl, in which,

Figure 1 is a plan of the staple-making machine; v

Fig. 2 is a left side elevation;

Fig. 3 is a detail in longitudinal sectional elevation, with the tail stock and the partition support broken awa i F 4 is a detail in front elevation, partly in section, of the mechanism for operating the cutter;

' Fig.6 is a detail in left side elevation, partly in section, of the tail stock positioned with relation to the mandrel rotator;

Fig. 6 is a rear sectional elevation on the line 6-6, Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a detail in rear sectional elevation'ot the parts adj acent the cutting point;

line 88, Fig. 7;

Fig. 9is an elevation of the staple made by the machine; A

Fig. 10 is an isometric perspective of th mandrel removed from the machine;

Fig. 11 is an isometric perspective showingone of the cutters removed from the machine; i i

Fig. 12 is a detail, in isometric perspective, showing the mandrel rotator and some of the parts carried thereby; and i i r Fig. 13 is anisomotric perspective of on of the coil stops.

In thcillustrated embodiment of the invention the ivire 1 (Figs. 1, 2, and 3) from a suitable source of supply (not shown), is led into the machine between guide rolls 2. (Figs. 1 and 2) carried bya bracket secured to the supporting frame 4. From the guido rolls 2 the iretravels to a ntuit-11ers (Figs. 3, 5, 6, 7, S and 10). During the operation of the machine the mandrel 5 is rotated to draw the wire continuously from thesourcc of supply and wind the wire in a plurality of coils (i (Fig. 8) around the coil supporting surface "(Fig.QlO). As shown in Figs. 7 and 1,0, the mandrel 5 is oblong in'crosseection with opposite round- 1 a p ededies 8 which form theheads or shoulders Wlll be obvious to those skilled in the art from the follo\ ving description.

Fig. 8 is a detail in' sectional plan on the F Ill.

- on the frame 1 may be heavy lily-wheel pulley 38 (Fig ders 13 formed on its opposite edges. The bar 12 fits within a slot 1 1 (Fig. formed in one end of a cylindrical support 15 rotatably mounted within a sleeve 16. The sleeve 16 is splined to slide in a bearing-like extension 17 formed on a tail-stock 18 secured by bolts 19 to the frame 4-. The bolts 19 pass through elongated holes in the tailstock so that the po it-ion of the tail-stock 18 aried. The bar 12 is secured to the support 15 by a pin 20, carried by the support 15, which passes through a hole 21 (Fig. formed in the bar 12.

The rear end of the support is provided with a reduced necl: 22 5) which rotates in a bearing 23 secured to the front of the extension 17. The neck 22 extends beyond the bearing into a hollow cap where itis provided with screw-threads 25 terminating in a square nut 26. The screwthreads 25 are engaged by a pair of adjusting and locking nuts 27. To insure the proper alignment of the mandrel 5 the bar '12, in front of the shoulders 13 is Clllbil'ZlCGd by a pair of cylindrical fillers 28 (Fins. 5-

and 6) whicn rotate both within the sleeve 16 and a tube 29 (Fig. 5). The tube 29 is held in place by a bolt 30 carried by a collar 31 which surrounds the tube 29. The collar 81 is secured by three screws 32 to the front end of the sleeve 16.

To prepare the mandrel 5 for rotation the free end of the wire extending through the feed rolls 2 is bent over the mandrel and then the mandrel 5 is rotated by hand to draw more wire from the supply and coil it into the six coils provided by the wire supporting surface 7. To this end a crank device (not shown) is inserted through an opening 33 (Fig. 5) in the cap 24- and engaged with the square nut 26, and then the mandrel is rotated to form the six coils thereon and position them as shownin Figs. 3 and E The coils extend within and are loosely embraced by an insert 31 (Fig. 12) removably secured to a mandrel rotator 35 which is secured to aspider 36 (Figs. 3 and l). The spider is secured by four screws 37 to a 3) which rotates on a series of roller bearings 39 inter posed between the pulley and a stationary tube 40. The tube 40 is clamped (Figs. 1. and 2) to a bearing-like extension 11 3) of a bracket 42 secured to the frame 4.

Duringthe continued rotation of the mandrel 5 the wire 1 is drawn from the source of supply and wound in coils about the mandrel. In order for each of the coils to be fed along the mandrel to make room for a fresh supply of wire the front end of the tube 29 (Fig. 5) is formed into a cam surface 43. This cam 43 engages the last coil of wire on the mandrel and pushes it with the other coils along the mandrel toward the front end thereof. The cam 13 holds the coil of wire at the free end of the mandrel against a pair of steps 14 and 4.5 (Figs. 7 ant 13) secured by screws 4.6 and 41-7 to the rear face of the mandrel rotator 35 7). Each of the stops Q 1 and as is provided with a coil engaging shoulder 18' 13) which is spaced a slight distance from the back wall of the insert 3 1.

With this construction the six coils of wire on the mandrel are firm: 1 held between the cam 43 and the stops 4: 1 and 15 so thatthere is no possibility for the loose wire at the free end of the mandrel to become displaced out of reachof the staple-severing instrumentalities.

i The cam 43 feeds the coils on the mandrel.

a distance equal to the gauge of wire used at each rotation of the mandrel. To adapt the macnine for operating upon wires of different gauges subst'v .te tubes are provided having (1 E'Qllb cam faces 13 thereon. @ne tube 29 may be removed and another substituted thcrefor merelv by firstunclamping and then clamping); th bolt 30 (Figs.

5 and 6).

l-Vitn the construction described rotationv tween the shoulders intermediate each of the bends and thus form the peinds ples the spider 36 carries a pair of cutters 4:9 and 50 (Fig: 3). The cutter is adjustabl v connected to a slide 51 while the cutter 50 is adjustably connected to a slide 2. cover plates 53 (Figr. 4-) being: provided lo hold the slid s 51 and 52 in place on the spider 35. The cutters and 51 are operated by a stationary cam bolted to the machine frame which enga es cam rolls 55 and 55 on the slides 51 and 52. respeetivelv.

During the rotation of the-machine the cam rolls 55 and 55 tra el continuously alone: the cam 5 1-. When cutters are in the position of l the lower cutter 59 is elevated by the cam 54- to shear through the wire at the end of the mandrel and form one end of the staple and separate it from the wire on the i'naiuh'el while the upper cutter 4-9 is thrown into an inoperative position by centrifugal force. At the time the lower cutter 50 is operating the mandrel is in the position of 7 which shows the position of the parts the completion of a cut. As shown in Fig. 9 the cutmade by the cutter diagonally across the wire so that the same out which forms one-end of the staple points the end of the wire on the mandrel to form one end of the next staple, the other end of f the sta-.

which is formed by the other cutter at the next half-revolution of the machine. With this construction two. staples are formedat each revolution. Therein face 43 is designed to impart two quick feeding steps to thewire coils at each rotation of themachine with a dwell between each feeding step in order to temporarily suspend the feeding movement- 01' the coils along the mandrel while a cutter is severing the wire. During theoperation of the cutters to cut thewire the insert 34 (Fig. 12) acts as an anvil on the wire on the mandrel and corrects any tendency for the bend in the coil to bow across the top of the mandrel. This takes the spring out of the head of the staple.

In order to permit the cutters to shear diagonally across the wire the mandrel is provided with two reversely' inclined shearing edges 57 and 58 (Fig. which cooperate with the inclined cutting edge 59 (Fig. 11) on the cutters. The shearing edge 57 cooperates with the shearing edge 59 on the cutter 49 while the shearing edge58 cooperates with the shearing edge 59 ,on the cutter As the cutter 49 or 50 shears across its cooperating shearing edge 57 or 58 a completely formed staple is chopped off thewire on the man( rel and this staple drops into a tube 60 (Fig. 3) fitted to-rotate with the spider 36.

i In order to prevent accidentaljannning of the staple in the space existing between the surface 61 onthe cutters and theback face of the insert 34, the latter carries a pair of filling pieces 62 and 63 secured by screws .64 to the insert34, onefilling piece .62 cooperating with the cutter 49 and the other filling piece 63 cooperating with the cutter 50.

To insure the passage of the staples out of the machine the interior surface of the tube 60 isrifled. This rifling, during the rotation of the tube, carries the staples jllltllG direction of the lead on the riding to the ,o pen end of the tube 60 wherethe staples drop out into some suitable receptacle (not shown). The 'ejectment of the staples under the influence ,ot the riding is assisted by a stationary partition 65 which supported by a bracket 66 on the machine frame and which extends within the tube L60 its entire length. As shownin Fig. l thepartition 65 is located at some distance from the longitudinal center of the tube 60 that it just clears the interior surface thereof.

Independently of the rifling or partition in the tube 60 the fonn ed staples may be forcibly ejected clear out of the tube 60, particularly when the machine is running at normal speed, by the cutters themselves.

Bearing in mind that the cam and stops 44 and 45 are oressingon the o3 osite ends at the coils on the mandrel it will heap parent that considerable spring is stored in "the wire coiledon the mandrel. When the completes its out the formed staple is free to fly out over the stop 45 into the tube 60. 1

While the upper cam roll (Fig. 4) is held elevated by centrifugal force while the machine is running at speed, at the start and atthe finish when the speed is less than normal the cam roll may not become so raised. To insure the elevation of the upper cutter (Fig. 4) at all times even if the machine is not running at normal speed the slides 51 and 5.? are provided with cross rods 67 ('Figs. 3 and 4) respectively, which work in slots 68 formed in the wa s for the slides 51 and 52 on the spider 36. nterposed between the rods 67 are a pair of heavy springs 69 (Figs. 3 and 4), the op osite ends of which are coiled around thesianks of cone heads 70 engaged in slots formed in the rods (57'.

In order to compensate for variations in the gauge of the wire in successive reels of Wire located at the source of supply, which- VFLI'lZllZlOIl is known as the manufacturers tolerance, the sleeve 16 isengaged by an adjusting screw-bolt 71 (Fig. ,5) carried by the hearing 23. Ifthe wire is slightly larger than standard the end of the wire will have V a tendency to overlap the free end of the mandrel. By loosening the screw 71 the cam face 43 withdraivs under pressure of the wire. to theright 5) and thus brings the end of the wire flush with the free end of the mandrel. It the wire is slightly smaller than standard the screw 71 actuated to advance the cam face 43 and thuspusli the coils of wire along the mandrel until the end of the wire is flush with thefree end of the mandrel. This inanipulation of the screw 71 may be made while the machine isrunning as the variation from standard in thegaug'e of wircshows up in the finished staple one leg being longer than the other. \Vhen this" occursthe operator -manipulates these-row 71 either to advance or withdraw the cam 43 until the legs of the staple are again uniform. This adjust-- mentvaries the area of the coil supporting surface 7. i i In order to provide for wear on the mandrel due toresharpening the shearing surfaces thereon the tail-stock 18 is n'ovided with a screw72, theother end of which butts up against a socket piece 7 3 carried by the supporting wall for the cam The screw 72 is provided with adjusting and locking wheels 74 and 75 nu nipulation of which with a suitable tool engaged with Ill) holes 76 in their peripheries permits the tailstock 18 to be moved with relation to the supporting wall for the cam 54 and thus bring the point on the mandrel where the reversely inclined edges 11 cross again flush with the back wall of the insert 3%. In making this adjustment of the tail-stock it is necessary first to unloosen thebolts 19 which pass through elongated holes in the tailstock and then tighten them after the adj ustment has been made.

Although the machine is operated at a very high speed little heat is developed as it is found that the staples absorb most of the heat enerated at the cutting point and this heat is withdrawn from the machine when the staples are ejected. Consequently little oiling is necessary except for the tube 60 and mandrel support 15 which are oiled through the ball and socket oiling devices "[7 and 7 8 carried by the bearing-like extensions 17 and il (Figs. 8 and 5), respectively.

In order to provide a stop for the movement of the slides 51 and in their outward movement under centrifugal force the spider 36 carries a strap 79 having a ledge 80 arranged to engage the upper end. of the upper slide (Fig.

As shown in Fig. 9 the machine of the present invention is designed to make a round wire staple such as the well-known poultry staple. To adapt the machine to make the square shouldered staple disclosed in my co-pending application hereinbefore referred to, or any other type of staple, the insert 3a (Fig. 12) is removed and another insert substituted thereforshaped to cooperate with the kind of wire employed in making a different form of staple.

It will be apparent to those skilled in this class of machines that changes may be made in the details of structure the described and illustrated embodiment thereof being intended as an exploitation of its underlying essentials, the features whereof will be delinitely stated in their true scope in the claims hereto appended.

lVhat is claimed as new is: 1. A stapleanaking machine, having, in combination, a mandrel rotatable to draw wire from a source of supply and coil the wire around the mandrel, means for preventing the mandrel moving lmigitudinally during its rotation and means for varying.

the normal area of the coil supporting surface of the mandrel during the rotation thereof.

2. A. staple-making machine. having, in combination, a mandrel rotatable to draw wire from a source of supply and coil the wire around the mandrel, means for jreventing the mandrel moving longitudinally during its rotation, a cam for feeding the coils along the mandrel, and means for relatively shifting the mandrel and the cam to vary the normal area of the coil supporting surface of the mandrel during the rotation thereof.

3. A staple-making machine, having, in combination, a mandrel rotatable to draw wire from a source of supply and coil the wire around the mandrel, a cam for feeding the coils along the mandrel, and means for adjusting the cam longitudinally of'the mandrel during the rotation thereof.

A staple-making machine, having, in combination, a mandrel, a rotatable support therefor, a sliding sleeve within which the support rotates, a cam supported fromthe sleeve, and means for sliding the'sleeve to vary the position of the cam longitudinally the mandrel.

Er staple-making machine, having, in c mbination, a mandrel, a support therefor, sleeve surrounding the support, a collar secured to the sleeve, and a cam secured to the collar.

6. A staple-making machine, having, in combination, a mandrel, a rotatable support therefor, a sleeve within which the support rotates, a support for the sleeve, a bearing secured to the sleeve support, and an eX- tension on the mandrel support, rotatably mounted on the bearing, provided with a socket.

7. A staple-making machine, having, in combination, a mandrel, a rotatable support therefor, a sliding sleeve within which the support rotates, a support for the sleeve, a hearing secured to the sleeve support, and an adjusting screw mounted on the bearing and arranged to engage the sleeve.

8. A. staple-making machine, having, in combination, a. mandrel having reversely inclined front edges, av rotator therefor, and means for relatively adjusting the mandrel and the rotator to maintain the point on the mandrel where the reversely inclined edges cross flush with the back face of the rotator.

9. A staple-making machine, having, in combination, a mandrel having reversely in clined front edges, a rotator therefor, a tail" stock for supporting the mandrel, and means for adjusting the tail-stock to maintain the point on the mandrel where the reversely ininclined edges cross flush with the back face of the rotator.

10. A. staple-making machine. having, in combination, a mandrel rotatable to draw wire from a source of supply and coil the wire around the mandrel. a cam for feeding lit) the coils along the mandrel, and means independent of the mandrel for stopping the advance of the coils by the cam; I

11. A staple-making machine, having, in combination, a mandrel, a rotator independent of the mandrel for rotating the mandrel to draw wire from a source of supply and coil the wire around the mandrel, a cam for feeding the coils along the mandrel, and

means on the rotator for stopping the advance of the coils by the cam.

12. A staple making machine, having, in combination, a mandrel, a rotator independ ent of the mandrel for rotating the mandrel to draw Wire from a source of supply and coil the Wire around the mandrel, a cam for feeding the coils along the mandrel, and a pair of stops on the back face of the rotatorfor stopping the advance of the coils by the cam. p

13. A staple-making machine, having, in combination, staple-forming devices, and means for ejecting the staples from the machine comprising a rotatable tube having its staple-engaging surface rifled.

14. A staple-making machine, having, in combination, staple-forming devices, primary meansfor ejecting the staples from the machine comprising a rotatable tube having its staple-engaging surface rifled,"and secondary means for ejecting the staples comprising a stationary partition arranged at one side of the longitudinal. axis of the tube and extended Within thetube itsentire length. 3

15. A staple-making machine, having, in combination, a mandrel rotatable to draw Wire from a source of supply and coil the Wire around the mandrel, means for holding the opposite ends of the coils firmly in position on the mandrel, and cutting mechanism independent of said means for chopping a" the Wire on the mandrel and for elevating the chopped outstaple above the stop.

17. A staple-making machine, having, .in combination, a mandrel having an inclined shearing edge, a rotator for rotating the mandrel to draw Wire from a source of supply and coil the Wire around the mandrel,

a cutter having an inclined cutting edge cooperating With the shearing edge. on the mandrel to chop out a staple from the Wire on the mandrel, and means for preventing a staple from jamming in the space between the cutterfand the back face of the rotator. In testimony whereof I have signed my name tothis specification.

CHARLES e. BLAKE. 

